Local Community Shows Support for Destin Seafood Festival

     Destin, FL, Sept. 16 - Thanks to the support of local residents, area businesses, and non-profit organizations, the 31st Annual Destin Seafood Festival is truly a community event. The festival, which will be held Oct. 2-4, at HarborWalk Village, boasts the commitment of area non-profit organizations, 18 local seafood restaurants, and sponsorships by area businesses.

     The area non-profit organizations committed to assist with the festival’s admission and token booths in exchange for a $500 donation include Alaqua Animal Refuge, Inc.; Boy Scouts Troop 504; Children in Crisis, Inc.; Children’s Volunteer Health Network; Covenant Hospice; Destin Fire Rescue Foundation, Inc.; Destin Garden Club; Destin Harvest; Destin History & Fishing Museum; Destin Woman’s Club; Emerald Coast Marine Institute; Junior League of the Emerald Coast; Kiwanis Club of Destin; Habitat for Humanity, Okaloosa County; Emerald Coast Parrot Head Club; Ronald McDonald House; Destin Rotary Club; Sinfonia Gulf Coast; and the Wildlife Rehabilitators Partnership of NW Florida. Through this program, the Destin Seafood Festival and the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce have donated $43,500 to the local community and the non-profit organizations that serve it over the last three years. This total does not include the donations that are expected to be given this year.

     The 18 local seafood restaurants and specialty caterers in this year’s festival will be the Back Porch; Bruster’s Ice Cream; Café Grazie; Caribbean Café; CP Concessions; Cuppy’s Coffee; Fisherman’s Wharf; Kettle Corn; Louisiana Lagniappe; Mark’s Hawaiian Shaved Ice; McGuire’s Irish Pub; MDM Concessions; New Orleans Cajun Cuisine; Pompano Joe’s; Repicci’s Italian Ice; Ruben’s Concession’s; Tropical Smoothie Café; and Tropical Sno.

     Festival sponsors include the following: Official Accommodations Sponsor – ResortQuest; Official Site Sponsor – HarborWalk Village; Saturday Host – Goldring Gulf Distributing; Stage Sponsor – 102.1 The Wave (WWAV); Premier Charter Sponsors – 105.5 The Wolf, 99 Rock, Coast 93.3, Cox Communications, The Destin Log, DIXIELECTRICAR OF DESTIN, Ecco Motors & Street Legal Carts, EmeraldCoast.com, Florida Lottery, Emerald Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc., Fly 92.1(WFFY), Hampton Ruff N Tuff Electric Vehicles, Mix 103.1 (WMXZ), News Talk 1260AM, Northwest Florida Daily News, Sterling Resorts, Walton Sun, WJHG TV Coverage You Can Count On, and Z96; Cobia Catch Sponsors – A Sunshine Shuttle, Complete Signs, DEX, publisher of the EMBARQ® Yellow Pages, Louisiana Lagniappe, Payne Chiropractic Wellness Center, and Southern Resorts Vacation Rentals; Pompano Partner Sponsors – Eglin Federal Credit Union and Fort Walton Beach Medical Center; Associate Angler Sponsors – Army Aviation Center Federal Credit Union, Chartwell Hospitality, Community Bank, Copy Systems Business Center, Inc., Destin.ZapGuide.org, Grand Boulevard, Howard Group, Inn on Destin Harbor, Murphy's Home Services, Inc., Pleat & Perry, P.A., and Silver Sands Factory Stores; Pepsi Booth Sponsors – Simple HR, SummerPlace Inn, and Tetra Tech, Inc.; and First Mate Sponsors – FNBT.COM Bank and O'Sullivan Creel, LLP. In addition, Fudpucker’s Beachside Bar & Grill is bringing out a few of its gators for the crowd to view.

     Headliners for the festival are Survivor on Friday and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts on Saturday. Opening acts will be Black-Eyed Blonde on Friday and Ocean Street on Saturday. Local favorites Chuck Lawson, the Forrest Williams Band, and the Northwest Florida State College Soundsations Show Choir will also perform.

     Admission for the entire 3-day weekend is $15, or you may purchase daily admission bands for $5 each on Friday and Sunday and $10 on Saturday.

     The festival hours are Friday, Oct. 2, 4 – 10 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 4, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

     For more information, please visit www.DestinSeafoodFestival.org or contact the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce at (850) 837-6241.